@jtcf yes they work well and fit my beefed up bottom ported Ohm Walsh 2s with 8” driver that are 12” square at the base perfectly. 100 lb might be ok depending. Probably not if spikes. Maybe Auralex publishes weight limits.
Experience with Townshend Seismic Podiums on Concrete Floor (they're great)
I have tower speakers on a concrete floor covered with carpet. Recently, I tried out the Townshend Seismic Podium (size 1) on my Ascend Acoustics Towers (RAAL tweeter) for about 4-5 hours. Here is a brief recounting of my experience.
At first, I set up the podiums and just listened to well known tracks; next, a few days later, I used that same set of tracks to compare, A & B, the speakers on the podium vs. without the podium (but at the same height). A friend with me also compared this A/B setup. We listened to a simple jazz arrangement, a Mozart aria, a rock recording by Chesky, and a country/rock piece. All were well recorded.
The difference made by the podiums are not subtle. In general, it is as if the entire sonic presentation was brought into focus, as if a light veil or layer of dust had been wiped away. It organizes everything; it makes the parts of the whole make sense.
More specifically, these were the effects I noticed:
Bass was slightly fuller, much cleaner and more distinct; for an electric bass, this meant that rounded notes that previously blurred in a sequence (too legato) become individual notes. String bass notes gained dimensionality and texture; the finger on the string became more real, and the resonance of the large wooden bass got fuller and richer. Rhythm sections were better able to stand out *as* rhythm sections, that is, as musicians who are working together.
As far as midrange and treble go, there was -- as with the bass -- more definition, clarity, detail. They sound more like instruments-in-the-room rather than the presence of instrument appearances. Not much about their tonal character changed, but they became more palpable and more exactly located.
That brings me to the soundstage. The width of the soundstage grew by about 10-14% — 5-7% on each side. It was remarkable. Instruments gained space, separation, and definiteness of location. They didn't sound apart or isolated but just more distinct, separated from other instruments. I imagined this as fidelity to the way the microphone recorded them or as the mixing engineer intended.
When I ordered the podiums, I made sure to ask for the ability to return them. I was assured that I could return them if I just paid shipping. (No restocking fee.) I was skeptical and wanted an escape clause. I had watched a few videos and was curious about whether Mr. Townshend's scientific claims would translate into audible differences that would be worth the money (the podiums cost about 1/3 of my speakers' cost).
Well, my skepticism is gone — and it disappeared rather quickly at first, and then after careful comparison. I am keeping the Townshend podiums. Are they better than Isoacoustics footers or other products? I don't know, because I have not compared them. But they're making a huge difference and, should I want to put other speakers on them, they'll fit the others I have, easily. I'm pretty sure I'll never give these up.
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Yes, @prof I missed your post. Apparently you may be the only one on this thread who did not like the results of the Townshend. However, I note that in your case it’s with the Bars rather than Podiums. The Bars and Podiums may be the same in terms of performance so it may not matter.
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@hilde45 , Thanks for drawing my attention to the video. There is a lot of information there. After one viewing, I really like this company's approach and intend to watch the video several more times. They seem to have systematically addressed those issues I identified as I tried to mentally work my way through this problem. My sense is that there is some good science and engineering at work. I noticed that their isolation technology is in addition to what sounds like some significant internal cabinet bracing. And guess what? Their speakers are expensive. Also interesting is the use of the aluminum plate which serves to drain residual kinetic energy from the speaker cabinet. I'd love to know more about how the speaker couples to the plate, and how the plate decouples from the floor. |
@hilde45 I particularly like this thread b/c i also have carpet over concrete and have often wondered about the need for isolation vs. the need to couple the speakers to the concrete via spikes--seeing so many threads advocating isolation and just as many advocating coupling makes it very confusing. There are only a few posters here whose opinion i respect and you've long been one of them. @mapman Your experience is also valuable--i was also a Geologist until i went down the dark hole of law but have often pondered the effect, if any, of seismic vibration, especially on a concrete floor covered with thick pad and carpet. I've pondered Isoacoustic Gaias, Symposium platforms (@sokogear) and Podiums but just haven't been willing to pull the trigger, mainly b/c the sound is pretty darn good right now. One thing i've noticed, and wondered about, is that small changes in tweeter elevation are very noticeable--if i lift myself up an inch (or lower myself the same) in my listening position the effects are very noticeable. Therefore, i've wondered whether the Podiums elevate the speaker thus causing a noticeable change that owners might like? Any comment on that Podium owners ? |
@wyoboy - part of the reason I went with the Symposium platforms is that they they raised the height of the speaker exactly the same as what came with the speakers (outriggers/spikes/discs), so the tweeter height was not affected. You never know how much (if any) improvement you'll get from any given accessory/tweak (I hate that word). Symposium offers a money back guarantee, so you're only risking the cost of shipping, but I will say that if you talk to Peter there, he will tell you if he thinks there will be an improvement with your exact application if he experience with it. My experience with both Townshend's seismic platform under my TT and Symposium with my speakers are that the improvement was immediately noticeable and more than I expected. Not so much with Symposium rollerblocks under my amp and phono stage. Lastly, I thought my stereo sounded darn good back in college, and it has only gotten better over the decades. Every time I think I am "there" I am surprised that the bar seems to be higher with a different arm, phono stage, cartridge, etc. And I am nowhere near as critical a listener as a lot of Agon contributors and don't change components very often (amp is 18 years old, speakers weren't traded in for 25 years). Most of the time I am doing something else, and I don't have a dedicated room - it's a den. |
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